Before the season, we wondered if West Virginia would ever be able to cut it in the Big 12. We also pondered whether TCU was just simply out of its league.
And who could blame us?
The two programs had each gone 6-12 in the conference their first two years. They failed to go to bowl games last year. And after getting picked to finish outside the top five in the league in the preseason, there didn’t seem to be much hope for 2014, either.
Consider us wrong.
TCU and West Virginia have arrived in Year 3 in the Big 12.
Proving they belong.
Showing they’re contenders.
“I’m really excited for West Virginia,” said TCU coach Gary Patterson. “Because both of us had kind of been told up to this point that maybe there were questions whether we could play in this league.”
Those doubters have been silenced.
The Horned Frogs have emerged as perhaps the league’s best chance of advancing into the inaugural College Football Playoff. TCU (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) toppled Big 12 preseason favorite Oklahoma earlier this month. After a fourth-quarter collapse at Baylor, the Horned Frogs bounced back and flashed their staying power last weekend by hammering Oklahoma State, 42-9.
Meanwhile, West Virginia (5-2, 3-1) has surged into the conference title conversation, fresh off a convincing 41-27 win over the Big 12 defending champion Bears.
“I think we’re seeing the results of them being more comfortable being in the Big 12,” said Baylor coach Art Briles.
“And they’re here to stay, no question.”
Three years ago, the Mountaineers and Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 on the heels of the second round of conference realignment after Texas A&M and Missouri had bolted for the SEC.
At the time, it seemed like an acceptable tradeoff.
TCU had been among the most dominant “mid-major” programs in the country, compiling a 47-5 record in four years, which included a win over Wisconsin in the 2011 Rose Bowl.
West Virginia too entered the Big 12 on a roll. The Mountaineers won the conference title their final season in the Big East, then demolished Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
But while Texas A&M and Missouri initially shined in the SEC, TCU and West Virginia faltered in the Big 12.
West Virginia collapsed down the stretch in 2012, then went 4-8 last season, missing out on a bowl for the first time since 2001.
TCU had problems, too.
With an ineffective offense that ranked 106th nationally, the Horned Frogs sputtered to a 4-8 record last season, the worst under Patterson.
“I always said it was going to take 3-5 years to be able to do it,” Patterson said. “It just takes time to recruit, it takes time to change your philosophy. You’ve got to tweak some things. We had to change.”
Patterson gambled with a big change, bringing in Doug Meacham from Houston and Sonny Cumbie from Texas Tech to transform the TCU offense into an up-tempo, spread attack, to match the rest of the Big 12.
“In the spring, things didn’t look as good,” Patterson said.
But in the fall, the Horned Frogs have adapted better than anyone, including Patterson, could have predicted.
In a dramatic turnaround, TCU currently ranks seventh nationally in offense behind Trevone Boykin, who has emerged into one of the most lethal quarterbacks in college football.
“How far they’ve come offensively is incredible,” said Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury. “Coach Meacham, Coach Cumbie have done a great job. (Boykin) is as dominant as any player in the country. They’re running the system like they’ve been there for years.
“They have it rolling.”
West Virginia is rolling, too, thanks also to a coaching change. After defensive coordinator Keith Patterson left for Arizona State, Dana Holgorsen promoted safeties coach Tony Gibson to coordinator. He also brought in longtime Penn State assistant Tom Bradley. Together, Gibson and Bradley have whipped the Mountaineers into the league's most improved defense. Spurred by a more aggressive style, West Virginia sacked Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty four times while holding the Bears 26 points below their season average.
“Both of them are just adjusting to the Big 12, that’s what you’re seeing,” Briles said. “It’s a fast league, an explosive league. TCU certainly has matched the offense in the league, and West Virginia has done the same defensively."
Like TCU, West Virginia has also gotten superb quarterbacking. Clint Trickett tops the Big 12 in QBR and in completion percentage.
“They have mature quarterbacks that are somewhat experienced and playing with confidence, that’s the key,” said Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy. “The quarterback play is as instrumental as anything that’s happened.”
TCU and West Virginia also have the playmakers. And now, they have the depth, too.
In Josh Doctson, Kolby Listenbee and Deante' Gray, the Horned Frogs have three of the top 18 receivers in the conference, after not having one last year.
The Mountaineers lost starting cornerbacks Daryl Worley and Terrell Chestnut to injuries in the first half against Baylor, but had the backups to still handcuff the Bears.
“There have been a lot of times in previous games where we weren't equipped to be able to deal with that,” Holgorsen said. “But our recruiting has been better because of the Big 12 brand, so you're able to add younger guys to the mix that have talent.”
As a result, West Virginia and TCU have proved they belong in Year 3.
And that they’re here to stay.